Archive for October 2013

There are a number of scenarios that my brain automatically refuses to consider and if I was the superstitious type, I’d believe that I’m about to jinx things by now naming some of them. Of course, they all have to do with my child with severe autism and the scariest ones have to do with situations that arise out of nowhere, with little time to respond, such as an earthquake or other natural disaster.

Life has a way of giving us reminders, both big and small about the wisdom of planning ahead for such things. Hurricane Katrina’s effect on my family in New Orleans was a big one. With their house under eight feet of water, they found themselves displaced for months and while it was hard on everyone, it was particularly so for my nephew with special needs. Read full post »

So you’ve gotten through the diagnostic evaluation and survived. You’ve been given your resource guide, your First 100 Days kit, and an abundance of online support and education resources. You may have been told that Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one of the few evidence-based treatments for autism and that Medicaid and other insurance companies are now covering ABA for children with autism, so consider starting a home program to augment the services received in school.

So where does a parent begin?

My experience as a parent of a child who receives ABA services is that it isn’t as easy as making a phone call or two. There’s a learning curve in understanding what this therapy is, how it might benefit your child, how to access it, and how to live with it. Times have changed a great deal in the thirteen years since my son was diagnosed at age 3. At that time there was no insurance coverage for ABA or any other kind of therapy in the home, providers were scarce, and it was hard to know how qualified they were. Read full post »

OCD and ASD: How are they different?

We often get questions from parents about their child’s behaviors that have an “OCD” feel to them. They wonder if this is true Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or part of their child’s autism diagnosis. For answers to these questions, we went to two of our psychologists here at the SC Autism Center. Here’s what they had to say:

What is OCD?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by a) persistent and distressing thoughts and b) behaviors used to “cope with” those thoughts. A person with OCD often feels “compelled” to perform compulsive behaviors and believes that performing these behaviors will “keep bad things from happening.” OCD is more common Read full post »

What’s New

About This Site

Seattle Children's complies with applicable federal and other civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude people or treat them differently based on race, color, religion (creed), sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin (ancestry), age, disability, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Financial assistance for medically necessary services is based on family income and hospital resources and is provided to children under age 21 whose primary residence is in Washington, Alaska, Montana or Idaho.